KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 24): Johor-based chemical coating solutions provider Sersol Bhd, which has just removed its chief executive officer earlier this month citing his prolonged absence from office without proper notice, announced on Friday that its external auditor has resigned and the group is now looking for its replacement.
"The board was informed by UHY that the resignation was due to lack of manpower. Further, the board also wishes to inform that the company is not aware of any other matters that need to be brought to the attention of the shareholders of Sersol," it said in a bourse filing.
Separately, the group reported a larger net loss of RM7.91 million for its third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023, over 14 times the net loss of RM542,000 it incurred in the previous year's corresponding quarter, largely due to deposits and prepayments written off amounting to RM7.4 million that are deemed to be non-recoverable. The group did not say why these sums had turned non-recoverable.
Quarterly revenue also came in at RM3.45 million, down 38% from RM5.56 million previously, due to softer demand from customers in the electronics and electrical business.
For the nine months ended Sept 30, the group’s net loss swelled to RM16.27 million from the RM1.86 million it posted in the same period last year, while revenue dropped 27.2% to RM10.02 million from RM13.77 million.
On Nov 7, Sersol announced that it had removed its then CEO Datuk Wira Justin Lim Hwa Tat, as he had been absent from office since February without giving proper notice, and had failed to respond to a show cause letter since his suspension on Aug 30 this year.
Lim, who is being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), was suspended by the group as he had failed to respond to requests for his return to office to report to the board and to provide a written response on the MACC's inquiry about him, and to explain his long absence from the office.
Sersol had announced in July this year that the MACC had visited its office in June and recorded statements from its current and former directors in relation to certain payments that Sersol made to a third party that were allegedly instructed and approved by Lim.
Sersol shares closed 0.5 sen or 3.7% lower at 13 sen on Friday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM95.09 million.